The present invention relates to an apparatus for dispensing both ice and chilled beverages, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an improved chilled beverage dispenser which has large ice storage capacity and which incorporates an improved system of dispensing ice.
Available space is a valuable commodity in small convenience stores, cafeterias, concession stands, fast food service lines and the like. The relevant industry sets certain size and dimensional requirements based on practical limitations of service counter size and the ease of everyday operation and routine maintenance. The industry is constantly looking for improved apparatus which take up less counter space while delivering the same or increased levels of efficiency. Small, compact machines, facilitatinq the delivery of good service and suitable for service counters of set and limited dimensions, are constantly in demand. One such demand has been for a combination ice and beverage dispenser. Ice in chilled beverages has become a necessary part of modern-day food service, and a combined ice and chilled beverage dispenser, logically, increases efficiency in food service delivery by eliminating the need for two separate machines and by making more counter space available.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,763, issued on Feb. 10, 1987 to Landers, et al., discloses one such effort in which an ice storage bin can provide ice for beverages, while at the same time providing a cooling source for a cold plate which, in turn, chills beverage lines. That disclosure is typical of the state of art prior to the present invention. The apparatus disclosed by Landers is limited in the capacity of stored ice (partially about 90 lbs.) because the bottom level of ice in the storage bin has to be above the height level of the discharge chute for the force of gravity to allow discharge of ice into cups waiting below. Thus, the free space from the lowest portion of the machine to the height level of the bottom layer of ice is wasted and unusable for ice storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,715, issued on Jul. 14, 1987 to Hovinga, discloses a rotary paddle wheel which is used in a combination ice cube and cold beverage dispenser to elevate ice from lower regions of a storage cabinet up to a dispensing chute. Ice is elevated to roughly the same level as that of the dispensing chute, and the entire storage cabinet, along with all of its internal components, is designed at a tilted angle to allow gravity-assisted dispensing. Because of this sloped design, the paddle wheel is limited to a relatively small size. The size of the wheel is further restricted by a separate enclosure that is a part of the wall of the ice cabinet which is required for the wheel to be able to carry ice within the enclosure's confinement.
The entire design restricts the amount of ice that can be stored within the cabinet which is limited by the height and width demands of the food service industry. The volume of ice in the cabinet is further restricted by addition of a curved false bottom which is designed to create a separate compartment for ice to cool a cold plate. Furthermore, the small size to which the paddle wheel is confined results in inefficient ice delivery as it is restricted to the small amounts of ice that reach it through the tilt angle and narrow channels formed in the opening to its separate enclosure.
A trade publication distributed by SerVend International, Inc., Form No. 2170, copyright 1988, discloses an ice dispenser that also utilizes a paddle wheel. Like the Hovinga patent, the internal ice bin and the paddle wheel system design disclosed in the SerVend brochure is tilted at an angle with wasted dead space below the slanted bottom of the ice storage bin. The SerVend ice dispenser could be combined with a beverage dispenser; however, this would create problems very similar to the restricted volumes found in the storage cabinet of the Hovinga patent.
Another drawback of the SerVend paddle wheel is the delivery of ice up to the apex of the paddle wheel for discharge down a dispensing chute. If this method of dispensing ice is to be incorporated with a beverage dispenser, the industry would demand that the length of drop from the apex of the paddle wheel to beverage containers waiting below be enclosed within a relatively long discharge chute. That will result in wasted ice as conventional beverage holders cannot hold the volume of ice discharged by this excessively long discharge chute.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,654, issued on Oct. 8, 1991 to Schroeder, et al., discloses an apparatus which allows for almost
double the capacity of ice storage (around 160 lbs.), as compared to machines presently available, by incorporating a rotating tray which lifts ice stored below the height of the discharge chute to an elevation above the chute and then into a secondary cone chute for gravity-assisted dispensing. That design allows the rotating tray to reach throughout the entire height of the ice storage bin with utilization of the entire volume of the bin while still dispensing proper volumes of ice at appropriate height levels.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,654 improves substantially over the other prior art, it does suffer a design disadvantage. The secondary cone chute, used in conjunction with a set of breaker bars, does not dispense the ice in a consistent and regulated flow. That is, during the dispensing of ice, the ice exits the discharqe chute in large irregular clumps followed by periods of little or no discharge. Such an uncontrolled and excessive dumping wastes ice and creates a situation where constant attention to the level of the ice in the ice bin is required. The secondary cone chute, therefore, merely acts as a conduit which channels the ice to the discharge chute and provides no regulation of ice flow from the ice chute. Furthermore, the breaker bars function only to keep the ice from fusing and push it from the secondary cone chute into the discharge chute and, thus also, supply no regulation of the ice flow form the discharge chute.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a combination chilled beverage and ice dispenser with a secondary cone chute equipped with a paddle wheel which operates as an ice flow regulator to dispense ice delivered from an ice bin in a consistent, constant and controlled flow.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a combination chilled beverage and ice dispenser with an enlarged ice storage bin. To that end, the system disclosed herein incorporates a rotating tray which allows for storage of ice below the height level of the discharge chute, permitting the use of the free space below the level of the discharge chute which would otherwise be wasted.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combination beverage and ice dispenser which efficiently discharges ice in quantities corresponding to volumes of conventional beverage holders through the use of a cone chute furnished with a regulator located at an intermediate height along the dispenser. The rotating tray of the present invention has the ability to reach the lowest portions of its storage bin, utilizing all available storage space in the storage bin, and can discharge ice at an elevation that meets the demands of the industry without waste caused by excessive discharge.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination beverage and ice dispenser with a rotating tray, a regulator, and a plurality of agitators, all mounted on a single, motor driven shaft such that all separate components mounted on the shaft and agitators can be timed for set periods at set time intervals, using control circuits located on printed circuit boards, in order to prevent the ice from bridging if it is stored for long periods.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an a combination beverage and ice dispenser wherein the internal components of the ice-dispensing apparatus are strippable without tools for cleaning and maintenance, thereby, improving sanitation control.
It is an even further object of the present invention to provide a combination beverage and ice dispenser with insulation for chilled beverage lines beyond an ice-cooled cold plate utilizing foamed-in-place insulation.
Still other objects, features, improvements, and advantages of the present invention will become evident to those skilled in the art in light of the following.